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30/01/2013

LONG LIVE THE 50s & THE 60s - PRIVATES AND THE HOUR (SERIES 2)

Britain in search for a new identity, in the effort to forget the horror of two world wars, striving to recover in the shadow of the haunting foreboding of an atomic attack, is in the background of two BBC drama series I've recently watched: BBC1 afternoon show, Privates, and BBC2 second season of The Hour. Both series are brilliant and recommendable. Maybe my introduction can mislead you, they are neither gloomy nor depressing.They are differently entertaining series, thrilling emotions and fun garanteed. Both are already available on DVD (see direct links below to win a copy or to purchase sites) . If you've missed them, no excuses.

Privates - We gotta get out of this place

Privates is a BBC1 drama series set
in 1960, when National Service was not an option. The 5-part series follows eight
privates who are part ofthe last intake of National Service, stationed at a basic training depot in North Yorkshire. The episodes follow them hurting, growing, rebelling and having fun. Fun is a key word you should
keep in mind, because the series is totally amusing, original and
intriguing.

The events are seen from the point of view of one
of the 8 conscripts, the pacifist Private Keenan, played by the
talented Alexander Vlahos(Mordred in BBC Merlin). He finds himself thrown into an environment he
definitely despises and watchers will have to wait on - but not for long - to figure
out why someone like him hasn't chosen the civil service, instead . With Private Keenan, the most awkward and unpromising group of conscripts: the apparently
eccentric Private Lomax played by Ross Anderson, the Eton toff Private
White-Bowne played by Jack Fox, the Elvis fan Private Davies played by Matthew
Aubrey, the Cockney Private Wratten played by Billy Seymour, the somewhat
innocent Private Rothman played by Sam Swann, the clumsy Private Hoy played by
David Kirkbride and the shy Private McIlvenny played by Conor MacNeill.

The personal predicaments and family matters of their officers - Captain Gulliver (Patrick Baladi) and Sergeant Butcher (Michael Nardone) mingle with the eight protagonists' new and past experiences, the result is a convincing choral portrait with many hilarious moments as well as gripping and touching ones.

The stories are told and highlighted through great music from 60s, the songs thoroughly chosen to complete the nostalgic picture.
The end of the series was a real cliffhanger. Please BBC, a second series and, possibly, on prime time TV.

The Hour 2

The second series of Abi Morgan's 1950s TV news drama returned better than ever. I liked series 1 very much (my review) and totally loved season two. Peter Capaldi, Hannah Tointon and Tom Burke join the cast we met in series one, including Romola Garai, Ben Winshaw , Dominic West and Anna Chancellor.

The series features corruption
and political intrigue, in the background the unsettling and rapid change of the late 50s. Involved
in the space race and aiming at becoming a nuclear power, Britain seems on the
threshold of a new era of modernisation, economic optimism, scientific progress
and cultural change connected to new immigration from the Commonwealth.

The 6-part new series sees the team coping with ITV cutthroat
competition and struggling to broadcast the stories they believe in as they cope
with the haunting spectre of the Cold War and changing social mores.

Bel Rowley (Romola Garai) is still single and determined not to
get involved with another married man. She finds out that Hector (Dominic West)
is being lured to ITV. She fights for her programme and finds herself charmed
by her adversary, Bill Kendall (Tom Burke), the producer who wants to steal
their anchor man.

Hector Madden (Dominic West) has risen to the status of a
national celebrity. He is unsettled by his wife’s (Oona Chaplin) desire to establish her own TV career
and finds himself drawn to the late night clubs of Soho where he befriends Kiki
(Hannah Tointon), a club performer.

Freddie Lyons (Ben Whishaw), who was fired after ‘The Lord Elms’
live interview, makes an unexpected return to The Hour. Having been away for
several months travelling around the world, he returns as co-host of The Hour
and a married man, to both Bel and Hector’s surprise.

Lix (Anna Chancellor) is still
at the foreign desk, fighting for airtime for international stories,
but we are revealed a new intimate side to her when Randall, the new manager, arrives at The Hour.

The stellar cast deliver
stunning performances, the scripts are gripping, the music of the 50s makes
everything atmospheric and nostalgic. Get ready to suspence and thrilling
moments and, especially to a breathtaking, overwhelming final episode ending with a cliffhanger. It seems BBC can’t
do without lately. Fingers crossed for a third season. With Ben Winshaw in it.
Yes, I believe in miracles.

THIS IS ME

I've been an English teacher for a long time now and a blogger for more than 5 years. I love classic literature, reading, theatre, period drama, art and that is what I usually write about on FLY HIGH and My Jane Austen Book Club. I'd love to hear from you! Leave your comments to my posts or send e-mail messages to learnonline.mgs@gmail.com.

"The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space."— Italo Calvino

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